Two days after they were granted bail and hours after a court ordered their immediate release, student activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha walked out of Tihar prison on Thursday late evening.
The order came two days after the Delhi High Court granted bail to Narwal, Kalita and Tanha, who were arrested in May last year under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Director General (Delhi Prisons) Sandeep Goel confirmed that all three have been released.
A senior jail official said Kalita and Narwal were released around 7 pm and Tanha around 7.30 pm.
The three student activists were not released from the prison on time over delays in verifying their addresses and sureties.
In its order for the immediate release of the trio, the Delhi court said the delay in the verification process by the police could not be a plausible reason for the accused to be kept imprisoned.
ALSO READ: Delhi riots: Court orders immediate release of 3 student activists from jail
After securing bail from the high court, the activists had moved the trial court, seeking immediate release from prison.
When the trial court deferred the order on their plea for Thursday, they moved the Delhi High Court, which ordered the lower court to proceed with the issue with "promptitude and expedition".
The three student activists were arrested in May 2020 and are accused of being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 violence, which left 53 people dead and more than 200 injured.
ALSO READ: Bail to Pinjra Tod activists: Delhi Police moves SC challenging HC order
The high court, while granting them bail on June 15, had observed that "in an anxiety to suppress dissent, the state has blurred the line between right to protest and terrorist activity" and if such a mindset gains traction, it would be a "sad day for democracy".
The Delhi Police has, however, moved the Supreme Court, challenging the high court judgement granting them bail in the case.
Latest India News
